PM Network - June 2016

Lindsay Scott is the director of program and project management recruitment at Arras People in London, England.

and build your professional circle. Another area of development you should consider seriously is being mentored. This on-the-job sounding board and guiding hand in the early years is perhaps one of the best development experiences.

Another option, if you’re a little more advanced in your career, is being coached. I’ve seen how coaching can elevate a project manager’s career. Sometimes it just takes someone outside your day-to-day relationships to ask questions that make you realize you had the answers all along.

I’ve been working in project management offices (PMOs) for years, primarily in a program management office. I’m excited about developments in portfolio management. How should I position myself to work in a portfolio-focused PMO?

With a strong background in a program PMO, you already should have the technical capabilities to carry out the main roles in a portfolio PMO. After all, the central task of translating data into meaningful information is required for both. You are probably also familiar with investment appraisals, project prioritization, resource management and benefits realization. If you’re not, consider those areas as development opportunities.

The biggest shift when moving into portfolio management has to do with your understanding of the business and its competitive environment, and your ability to work with more senior members of the organization. There is a subtle switch in the language used and how you would interact with people at the portfolio level. You need the gravitas and knowledge to be able to deliver information that drives difficult decisions.

Keep in mind that portfolio management is also still a relatively young discipline with a lack of best practices on which to draw. Organizations are still fine-tuning how portfolio management works for them. For this reason, your development in this area partially will depend on how your organization wants to adopt portfolio management practices.

Interestingly, in my conversations with people
who have made the move from program PMOs to
portfolio PMOs, there’s never a great time for that
move. Many make the transition and then learn
the necessary new skills on the fly.

What’s the difference between a project man-
agement consultant and a freelance/contract
project manager?

Typically, a consultant in any business field is focused on advising organizations in business areas that need initiating, changing or developing. A project management consultant often advises, but also provides a hands-on project delivery role. A freelance/contract project manager tends to be hired to deliver a specific project or well-defined deliverables, rather than advise.

Here are some circumstances in which an organi-
zation might enlist a project management consultant:
n Limited project management capability. The con-
sultant advises how to improve an organization’s
pool of project managers while managing a criti-
cal project.
n Low project management maturity. A consultant
will deliver a complicated project while advising the
client on improving maturity so in-house project
managers can deliver such projects in the future.
n Troubled or failing projects. Consultants often spe-
cialize in getting projects back on track and advis-
ing how to avoid similar problems in the future.
n New technology, tools and methods. Consultants
can train and coach staff in new areas as well as
roll out new methods.
n New entities such as PMOs. A consultant can
advise on what models to follow and then start
the implementation.

Consultants are called on to assist in finding the right solution for the business, using their considerable experience in a specific area. Ideally, once the consultant finds the solution, he or she can successfully implement it as well. PM